I've written about the Stanford study which suggests that people who control an attractive avatar feel more personally confident, after they log off. Those are fascinating results from an academic standpoint, but CeNedra Rivera brings a personal depth to them in her most recent post. As her avatar grows sexier (as evidenced by this beguiling pose she recently posted on her blog), she's become more sexy in the real world:
In the year since I’ve been in SL, I’ve actually gone on a few RL dates. That might not sound like a big deal, but it is for me. I find myself actively flirting back when banter starts with male colleagues or friends. Even when I go shopping I find myself at least trying on things I normally wouldn’t have.
It's an even bigger deal, when you remember Ms. Rivera's background before SL: she's a survivor of an abusive relationship, who now offers advice to women who find themselves in the same traumatic place she escaped from. "For me," she wrote last month, "Second Life allows me to safely interact with people in ways I still can’t in my first life." Now, it seems, her in-world identity has freed up her other self too. (Image: censtwocents.blogspot.com.)
I too have noticed certain changes to the way I (or rather, my puppeteer) approaches attractive people in First Life since letting loose in my second. Obviously Ms. Riviera's story is much more meaningful and is admirable for it, but for what it's worth, I can vouch for the effect on flirting.
Posted by: Vidal Tripsa | Friday, October 24, 2008 at 03:03 PM
The whole "person building up confidence by interacting with people in-world with an attractive avatar" isn't going to work, not when every single person in SL has the same sort of attractive supermodel-type avatar. How people regard your avatar and your identity isn't going to work in that setting. If there's one thing I'm an advocate of, it's going AWAY from the "flawless supermodel" look. Second Life can allow you to be ANYTHING--so why does everyone pick some Abercrombie & Fitch knockoff? (And no, I'm not talking about furries or ageplay either, fark that noise)
Anyway, this woman's story is cool; that's not what I'm talking about. But haven't you ever seen The Invincibles? "When EVERYONE is special, then NO ONE will be."
Posted by: Two Worlds | Friday, October 24, 2008 at 09:13 PM
SL is not at all homogeneous... and I suspect that those fortunate in their RL genome underestimate the effect of being able to interact with people with an attractive avatar.
Posted by: Melissa Yeuxdoux | Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 03:16 PM